Offord D'Arcy Man 'Faked Suicide Note'

September 24, 2008

Updated: Tuesday, June 8, 2010 (09:24)

A FORMER policeman standing trial for a series of elaborate frauds held a samurai sword to his wife s throat as she arranged a mortgage over the phone, a court heard. Marcus Alder, 48, of Offord D Arcy, denies a 14 different offences including perjury, bl

A FORMER policeman standing trial for a series of elaborate frauds held a samurai sword to his wife's throat as she arranged a mortgage over the phone, a court heard.

Marcus Alder, 48, of Offord D'Arcy, denies a 14 different offences including perjury, blackmail and a fraud involving faking a suicide note of a wealthy recluse.

Prosecutors alleged Mr Alder had tried a number of different ways to get his hands on half the valuable estate of Phillip Tyssen-Gee, who killed himself at his home in Somersham in November 2006.

Mr Alder had "an obsession with weapons" and threatened people close to him with an imitation handgun on several occasions, prosecutor Timothy Spencer told Peterborough Crown Court on Wednesday (September 24).

Prosecutors allege Mr Alder befriended and fleeced Mr Tyssen-Gee, 50, for more than £100,000 before his death and attempted to gain even more after his suicide.

The executor of Mr Tyssen-Gee's estate, Richard Wood, told the court: "At the date of his death, there was £160,000 in missing money. He was heading for financial destitution."

On returning to Mr Tyssen-Gee's home in The Paddock with Mr Wood 10 days after his suicide, Mr Alder claimed to have found a suicide note.

"The reality is, this note was a bogus note, planted by the defendant," Mr Spencer said.

When it became clear the note had no legal status, Mr Alder claimed he had been the gay lover of Mr Tyssen-Gee and was entitled to some of his fortune, Mr Spencer said.

The prosecution told jurors that Mr Alder wrote bogus letters from mutual friends of his and Mr Tyssen-Gee's to back up his claims.

Mr Spencer said: "This was naked financial greed. Even after his death the defendant wanted to bleed even more money out of Mr Tyssen-Gee."

After his arrest in September 2007, police found a note on a computer at Mr Alder's home admitting his claim to the money was false.

It read: "I may be a bit odd, I may be money motivated, but for the record I am not gay or bisexual. The letter I sent about Philip was bollocks, I was just after money. It is true, I am a greedy git."

Following his arrest, Mr Alder, who was once a police officer for a brief period, applied for a bank card in the name of now-deceased Mr Tyssen-Gee, prosecutors told the court.

Aside from the alleged offences involving Mr Tyssen-Gee, Mr Alder claimed to have been in MI5 and carried a fake ID card to that effect. On one occasion he sent an e-mail from MI5Region4@aol.com and a fax from 'Commander Alder' to 'Commander Shaw' referring to the 'chaps and chapesses at MI5''.

He also obtained a number of motor cars on finance in the names of women he had met on internet dating sites, Mr Spencer said.

In June 2007 Mr Alder managed to convince one woman - Angela Greig - to marry him, the court heard.

On their wedding night, he told her: "I can stop pretending now - I've got you," - which prosecutors said is a reference to getting access to her money.

He later held a sword to her throat as she spoke to an estate agent about purchasing a house in Hilton.

Mr Spencer said Mr Alder was a large, intimidating man who owned weapons including a stun gun, spikes, knives and an imitation gun which he kept hidden in a dictionary.